CHAPTER 5 USING TRANSPARENCY

Digi-Paint  3's  Transparency is one of the most powerfula and widely useful
features ever offered in a paint program.  Transparency works with all other
program features in exactly the amount and location you specify;it is always
available to you if you care to use it.

CONTROLS
The  Transparency controls are located in the Controls section of Digi-Paint
3's  user  interface  and  consist  of a graphic representation of the drawn
shape or pasted brush(a shaded red sphere)with adjustments available for the
transparency   of   the   edge  of  object,transparency  of  the  center  or
"Hotspot",and adjustments for the shape and kind of Hotspot.

The  left  hand  vertical slider and the three icons to its left control the
Hotspot  or center transparency.  At the bottom of the slider the Hotspot is
entirely  transparent,and  at  the top of the slider the Hotspot is entirely
solid.   The  three  icons to the left of the slider are preset positions at
the  bottom(100% transparent),middle(50% transparent),and top(0% transparent
or opaque)of the slider.  Click any one of these icons to move the slider to
that position.

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In  the middle of the Transparency controls is the Hotspot Locator,with four
buttons  above  it;from  left  to right,those buttons are the Off button,the
Point  Hotspot,the  Horizontal  Hotspot,and  the  Vertical  Hotspot.   These
buttons  and  the locator determine the location and kind of hotspot present
in your drawn shape or pasted brush or text.

When  the  Off  button  is selected(the default setting),a large white block
fills  the  Hotspot  Locator.  In this setting,the Edge Transparency and the
Hotspot  Transparency  sliders are linked;moving one slider moves the other.
This  setting  is  particularly  useful  for  "tinting" effects and layering
transparent   colors.    Usually,if   you  are  using  a  solid  color  with
setting,it's  best to turn off the Dithering controls,especially for tinting
purposes.   When using Range mode and the Hotspot is off,the left-hand color
for the Range is used instead of the Current Color(note that if Dithering is
on,dots of other colors are painted in the area you draw).

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The  Point Hotspot button displays a small white square in the center of the
Hotspot  Locator.   Click  the  Point  Hotspot  button again to turn off the
Hotspot  Locator.   When the Point Hotspot is active,drag it anywhere in the
Locator.   This  sets  the  position  of  the  Hotspot,whose transparency is
controlled  by  the  Hotspot Transparency Slider.  When using Range mode,the
Hotspot controls the location of the left hand color in the Range Colors.

The Horizontal Hotspot button displays a verticla white bar in the center of
the  Hotspot Locator.  Click the Horizontal Hotspot button again to turn off
the Hotspot Locator.  When the Horizontal Hotspot is active,drag it anywhere
in the Locator.  This sets the position of the Hotspot,whose transparency is
controlled  by  the  Hotspot Transparency Slider.  When using Range mode,the
Hotspot controls the location of the left-hand color in the Range Colors.

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The  Vertical  Hotspot button displays a horizontal white bar in the Hotspot
Locator.   Click  the  Vertical Hotspot button again to turn off the Hotspot
Locator.   When  the  Vertical  Hotspot  is  active,drag  it anywhere in the
Locator.   This  sets  the  position  of  the  Hotspot,whose transparency is
controlled  by  the  Hotspot Transparency Slider.  When using Range mode,the
Hotspot controls the location of the left hand color in the Range Colors.

The  right  hand  slider  and  the three icons to its right control the Edge
Transparency.  At the bottom of the slider the edge of any shape you draw(or
custom  brush  you  paste down)is entirely transparent,and at the top of the
slider  the  edge  is  entirely  solid.  The three icons to the right of the
slider  are  preset  positions  at  the bottom,middle,and top of the slider.
Click any one of these icons to move the slider to that position.

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The  picture  "The  Gallery" shows some of the many ways that Digi-Paint 3's
transparency  controls can be used for different,subtle shading and lighting
effects.

TRANSPARENCY AND THE MODES
Transparency  can subtly or to a large degree alter any of Digi-Paint 3's 11
modes to create nearly limitless new ones.

When  you're  using  the  Transparency  controls  to  adjust the degree of a
mode,the  usual  setting  is to turn off the Dithering controls(no Dithering
active)and  to  leave the Hotspot equal to the Edge,so that the Transparency
affects the whole area equally.

You  can,however,create  interesting  and  subtle  effects by changing those
standard  settings.   Dithering  with  a  pattern  works well on geometrical
figures, while random dithering produces good effects with digitized images.
Dithering  of  either sort results in more apparent colors,which gets closer
to  the  mathematical  ideal  of  the  operation  being performed.  In other
words,it looks better in many cases.

EFFECTS
There are far too many possible effects achievable through the clever use of
Transparency  for  us to list here;the following is just a sample of some of
the  ways  that  Transparency can give you an artistic edge.  If you spend a
little  time  experimenting  with these suggestions and their variations,you
will discover a full set of your own favorite settings.

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1.Clouds and Mist-Making realistic clouds or mist is easy when you use Range
mode  with  Transparency.   Set  up a range of white to light gray for sunny
days or darker grays for a more overcast setting.  The proper setting of the
hotspot and transparency levels add the right degree of translucency to mist
or  fog.

2.Perspective  Effects-Transparency  and  the  other modes can help simulate
different kinds of perspective:

Using Blur with the transparency set to around 90% and painting over objects
in the background of your picture will give the effect of great distance;the
objects will blur slightly as if seen through a hazy atmosphere.

Colorizing   background   objects   with   blue   and  approximately  75-90%
transparency  will  also give them the look of being at a great distance but
without  actually  blurring  them;objects seen at a great distance through a
clear atmosphere take on a blue tinge but remain sharp in detail.

3.Translucency-objects  can be made translucent with the correct application
of  transparency.   Using a semi-transparent light gray to draw an object is
an  excellent  simulation  of  glass.   A  Range mode set up of white at the
hotspot to gray at the edge with the correct placement of the hotspot in the
locator  can  make a glass object with light source reflections.

4.Improved Montage-using Edge Transparency when pasting down custom brrushes
helps  to  more  effectively blend them into the picture.  Try using various
amounts  of  edge Transparency in the Montage tutorial when pasting down the
lips.  You'll notice that the transition is much smoother;another benefit is
that  you  don't  need  to  be  as  precise  when  cutting  out  the  custom
brush,because  varying  the  Edge  Transparency  will blend out any unwanted
details.

5.False    Color-Using    Transparency    with    Digi-Paint   3's   logical
modes(And,Or,and  Xor)can  yield  some  very  interesting computerized false
color   effects;make   Xor'ed  halos  of  false  color  by  setting  Hotspot
Transparency  at  100%  and  Edge  Transparency  at  0% and drawing over the
desired area.

Because  there  are  so many different combinations and possible modes,there
are  usually  subtle  differences  between seemingly identical modes,such as
painting  in  Normal  mode  with  50%  transparent  white and painting using
Lighten  mode.   To  prove this to yourself,set the Transparency Controls to
50% with the Hotspot off.  Select the color white from the 16 color palette.
Using  Normal  mode,draw  a filled rectangle over any portion of the Fashion
image  from  the Art Disk.  Then choose Lighten from the Mode menu and click
on  Undo and then Repeat.  You will notice a definite difference between the
two modes that at first glance seem identical.

INTERACTIVE TRANSPARENCY
The  Transparency  Controls  are also interactive;that is,you can manipulate
them  while  an  object  is  being  drawn to create unusual effects.  If the
Toolbox  vanishes  while  drawing the object,click the right mouse button to
halt  the  process,then  click  Undo and Repeat.  While the process is being
repeated,move  the Hotspot Locator or change the Transparency sliders.  This
works  better on a large object,because with a small object there isn't much
time.

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